The college's initial goal was to provide additional training to local high school graduates who were unable to find jobs during the Great Depression.

Due to the limited availability of space at the town hall, the college had to lay off faculty and staff and cut enrollment to 200 students.

In 1955, the Palm Beach County Commission gave the college 114 acres (46 ha) in Lake Worth, and the state legislature passed a bill providing over $1,000,000 for construction at this site.

The District Board of Trustees approved a resolution in June 2009 stating that the college's name should change in light of offering baccalaureate degrees.

[12][13] Notable faculty names include Watson B Duncan III of whom it was written: "the man who taught myth was indeed mythological".

In addition to inspiring students and seeing the new theater named for him, between 1948 and 1991, Duncan taught English and speech, and was chair of the communications department.

[14][15] Among the most notable alumni of Palm Beach State College are actor Burt Reynolds; Jesper Parnevik, who currently plays on the PGA Tour; soap opera actress Deidre Hall; Yolanda Griffith, an Olympic Gold Medalist and Professional Basketball Player with the WNBA; and James L. Wattenbarger, who was the Architect of the Florida Community College system.